352 SKULL AND TEETH. 



interspersed; the short fur is bluish-gray at the 

 base, the ends of the hairs being tipped with red- 

 dish-brown; the bristles are black, and when 

 smooth give a lustrous appearance to the fur. 

 The eyes are very small, and placed about mid- 

 way between the nose and the ear. The whis- 

 kers, stiff and bristly, are much longer than the 

 head, and dark grey. The ears are covered on 

 both sides with fine soft hair, rounded and very 

 short, and not unlike the human ear. 



Skull. --The, skull is much like that of the 

 squirrel's, with the marked exception of having 

 rootless molars, and the absence of post-orbital 

 processes; the occipital crest is well-developed, 

 the muzzle large, and nearly round. The bony 

 orbits are largely developed; the auditory bulla? 

 are small, but open at once into wide auditive 

 tubes ; the first molar is unusually small, oval, 

 and situated against the antero-internal angle of 

 the second. All the molars are rootless: the 

 lower grinders are much like the upper, but 

 somewhat longer and narrower. The molars in 

 both jaws are situated much farther back than is 

 usual, the centre of the skull being about oppo- 

 site to the meeting of the second and third. The 

 lower jaw is very singularly shaped, the inner 

 edges of the molars on opposite sides being 



